Alabama tornadoes: Power could be out for 5 days in Madison County, TVA infrastructure damaged

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- It could take up to 5 days for power to be restored to hundreds of thousands of customers in Madison County, Huntsville Utilities officials said this morning.

"This is an unprecedented event in history," said Bill Pippin of the utilities service. "We've never had all of the power go out at once."

Huntsville has about 90 damaged transmission lines. Once those lines are repaired, power will slowly be restored to customers. Huntsville Utilities is also waiting on power from TVA, which has reported damage at the Widows Creek plant and to 78 major transmission lines.

TVA spokeswoman Barbara Martocci said that while Guntersville Dam and Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant are operable, there is no way to distribute the electricity.

"This is the biggest storm ever in our system in terms of damages incurred," Martocci said.

Browns Ferry was shut down Wednesday when power going into the plant was interrupted. Power going into the plant has since been restored, but the reactors are shut down until the external lines are repaired.

"It could take days or weeks to repair the overall system," Martocci said, noting that the timeline for complete repairs is not the same as the timeline for restoring power to customers, which is expected to happen much more quickly.

TVA would be providing an update on the situation at 1:30 p.m. today.

Utility workers from Tennessee and South Alabama are traveling to Huntsville to assist with the power line repairs. Hospitals, pharmacies, grocery stores and gas stations are at the top of the priority list, Pippin said.